O'Neill polled each of the 12 jurors whether they believe “there is a hopeless deadlock, which cannot be resolved by further deliberations?” Each juror stood and answered yes.

Cosby lead defense attorney Brian McMonagle then motioned for a mistrial, which O’Neill promptly granted.

District Attorney Kevin Steele told the judge he intends to retry the case. He told reporters at a press conference later that accuser Andrea Constand is "entitled to a verdict." He said he was disappointed by the mistrial, reiterated that he had no doubts about the state's case and that the trial was important for victims of sexual assault.

O'Neill released Cosby on the same conditions of his $1 million bond posted in December 2015.

“I will release you on that same bail to await the decision of the Commonwealth,” the judge said.

A mistrial, O’Neill said, is not a vindication for either party. After 52 hours of deliberations, O’Neill said, the jury's work is “probably one of the more courageous acts, selfless acts that I’ve seen in the justice system.” At least one juror fought back tears.

CLOSE

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steel held a press conference Saturday morning following the announcement of a mistrial in the Bill Cosby sexual assault case. He says they will retry 'as soon as possible.' (June 17)
AP

It was an unsatisfactory end to a 10-day trial that turned "America's Dad" into an accused sex offender.

It was not immediately known what the vote was, but it was clear the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt in the view of at least one juror. The jurors now have the right to speak publicly but they don't have to do so.

In the courtroom, neither Cosby nor Constand, who was present, showed much emotion. Afterward, Cosby's spokesman, Andrew Wyat, declared victory. "Mr. Cosby's power is back. It has been restored," Wyatt said.

After court was dismissed, Constand stood, a smile on her face, and hugged those around her.

Her civil attorney, Dolores Troiani, released a statement later on her behalf thanking the prosecution team and the jury and hailing the trial for giving a "voice to the many victims who felt powerless and silenced" She also warned the media to leave Constand alone. "Andrea and her family are asking everyone to respect her privacy at this time," the statement said.

Judge O'Neill dismissed the jury of seven men and five women and sent them home to Pittsburgh where they had been selected and then sequestered 300 miles away here in Montgomery County in suburban Philadelphia where Cosby has a home.

“We have been at this for over 18 months,” O’Neill said. “To everybody here who has done it on this county system, I thank you ... With that, I bid you a farewell for this case and a happy Fathers Day for all the fathers who are out there,” he said.

Bill Cosby gestures as he departs the Montgomery County Courthouse after a mistrial was declared in his sexual assault trial, June 17, 2017, in Norristown, Pa.(Photo: Matt Slocum, AP)

Trial watchers saw mistrial coming

The result Saturday was not entirely a surprise. The jury announced it was deadlocked on all three counts on Thursday before lunch but Judge O'Neill sent them back to try again after first denying the Cosby defense team's motion for a mistrial. He did the same thing again Friday morning.

The jury deliberated a total of about 52 hours over about five days after a trial that moved at a brisk pace for the first six days. The jury got the case on Monday evening.

The trial followed more than two years of lurid headlines over a 13-year-old alleged sexual assault and a pile-up of accusations from dozens of women that Cosby, the beloved comedian once known as “America’s Dad,” was a serial rapist who drugged and/or assaulted them in episodes dating back to the mid-1960s.

But Cosby was tried here in suburban Philadelphia, beginning June 5, on the accusations of only one accuser, Andrea Constand. He was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent sexual assault stemming from an encounter with Constand at his home nearby in 2004.

Constand, 44, testified, for the first time in public, that Cosby drugged and molested her as she lay helpless on his couch. His defense lawyers said Cosby and Constand were lovers, he gave her only an over-the-counter anti-histamine, and their encounter was consensual.

Cosby chose not to testify on the witness stand and his legal team put on a defense case that lasted little more than five minutes, calling only one witness, thus cutting the courtroom part of the trial short. It was a move designed to telegraph to the jury that a defense was unnecessary because the prosecution had failed to prove its charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

But it was a message that members of the jury apparently didn’t buy; they could not agree on conviction or acquittal.

Bill Cosby walks out after his guilty verdict was announced at the Montgomery County Courthouse April 26, 2018 in Norristown, Pa. Cosby was found guilty on all accounts after a former Temple University employee alleges that the entertainer drugged and molested her in 2004 at his home in suburban Philadelphia. More than 40 women have accused the 80 year old entertainer of sexual assault. MARK MAKELA/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

Comedian Bill Cosby watches as a protester is tackled by sheriff's officers as Cosby arrives for the first day his second sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. April 9, 2018. DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Sonia Ossorio, center, president of the National Organization for Women of New York, leads a group in protest, after Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse, April 9, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. COREY PERRINE/AP

Legal documents are wheeled into the Montgomery County Courthouse pre-dawn before the first day of the Bill Cosby sexual assault retrial April 9, 2018 in Norristown, Pa. A former Temple University employee alleges that the entertainer drugged and molested her in 2004 at his home in suburban Philadelphia. More than 40 women have accused the 80 year old entertainer of sexual assault. MARK MAKELA/GETTY IMAGES

Kathleen Bliss, center, lawyer for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, not shown, arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Pool photo by Corey Perrine

Bill Cosby, center, walks back to courtroom C with spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, left, from a break during his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Pool photo by Corey Perrine

Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill walks to courtroom C before Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Pool photo by Corey Perrine

Tom Mesereau, center, lawyer for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, not shown, speaks to other legal defense members as they walk back to courtroom C after a break in the Cosby sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Pool photo by Corey Perrine

Protestors with Black Women's Blueprint demonstrate outside the Montgomery County Courthouse during jury selection in the Bill Cosby sexual assault retrial April 2, 2018 in Norristown, Pa. A former Temple University employee alleges that the entertainer drugged and molested her in 2004 at his home in suburban Philadelphia. More than 40 women have accused the 80 year old entertainer of sexual assault. Mark Makela, Getty Images

Protestors with Black Women's Blueprint create a mosaic while demonstrating outside the Montgomery County Courthouse during jury selection in the Bill Cosby sexual assault retrial April 2, 2018 in Norristown, Pa. A former Temple University employee alleges that the entertainer drugged and molested her in 2004 at his home in suburban Philadelphia. More than 40 women have accused the 80 year old entertainer of sexual assault. Mark Makela, Getty Images

Actor/ stand-up comedian Bill Cosby arrives to the first day of Jury Selection for his sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 2, 2018 in Norristown, Pa. Gilbert Carrasquillo, WireImage

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, right, arrives for jury selection in the sexual assault retrial for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on April 2, 2018. Pool Photo by Brendan McDermid

Prosecution documents in the case against actor and comedian Bill Cosby are wheeled into the courtroom for a pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on March 30, 2018. Cosby's lawyers and prosecutors will argue over the number of his accusers allowed to testify at his sexual assault retrial. Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby boards the elevator after a pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on March 30, 2018. Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby returns to the courtroom for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on March 30, 2018.
Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby, 2nd from left, walks past journalists filing stories during a recess in the pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., March 29, 2018. Cosby's lawyers and prosecutors will argue over the number of his accusers allowed to testify at his sexual assault retrial. Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby, left, leaves the courtroom with his local attorney Lane Vines during a recess of a pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on March 29, 2018.
Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Bill Cosby departs the Montgomery County Courthouse on March 6, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Cosby's lawyers and prosecutors will argued over the number of his accusers allowed to testify at his sexual assault retrial. Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images

Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse on June 17, 2017 in Norristown, Pa., after a mistrial was declared in his sexual assault case, 11 days after the trial began and following 52 hours of deliberations. Kevin Hagen/Getty Images

Bill Cosby after a mistrial in his sexual assault case, with his lawyers Brian McMonagle and Angela Agrusa, and his publicist Andrew Wyatt, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. Matt Rourke, AP

Bill Cosby gives a thumbs-up to supporters as he gets in his car outside the courthouse on Day 5 of his sexual assault trial, after the prosecution rested its case, on June 9, 2017 in Norristown, Pa. The defense will present its case starting June 12. Matt Rourke, AP

Bill Cosby arrived for the first day of his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on June 5, 2017. Take a look at some of the other key players at the trial. Matt Rourke, AP

In addition to his lawyers, bodyguards and assistants, Cosby arrived for the first day of his trial accompanied by Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played his daughter Rudy Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show' and has defended him for two years. Matt Slocum, AP

Attorney Gloria Allred represents dozens of Cosby accusers, including a witness who testified at the trial that he drugged and assaulted her in 1996. Allred has been at the trial every day since Day 1, on June 5, 2017. Mark Makela

Some Cosby accusers are attending the trial even though they are not involved in the proceeding, including Therese Serignese, a nurse from Florida who has accused Cosby of drugging and raping her in a Las Vegas hotel in about 1975. She is now suing him in civil court. LUCAS JACKSON, AFP/Getty Images

Two other Bill Cosby accusers also are attending his trial: Lili Bernard, (L), who says Cosby drugged and raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in about 1975, and Victoria Valentino, who says Cosby drugged and raped her in 1970, outside the courtroom on Day 4 of the trial, June 8, 2017. EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ, AFP/Getty Images

Locked out of the courthouse, media cameras gathered outside to capture Bill Cosby arriving for the first day of his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., June 5, 2017. Matt Rourke, AP

The Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh where jury selection began in the Bill Cosby sex-assault trial. Lawyers will spend the week picking a dozen jurors and six alternates who will be taken to suburban Philadelphia and sequestered for the duration of the trial starting June 5. DON EMMERT, AFP/Getty Images

The man prosecuting Bill Cosby, District Attorney Kevin Steele of Montgomery County, arrives at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh for jury selection on May 22, 2017. DON EMMERT, AFP/Getty Images

Bill Cosby has spent the last 15 months arriving for and leaving pretrial hearings for his pending sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on April 3, 2017. CLEM MURRAY, AFP/Getty Images

Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, arriving for a Bill Cosby pre-trial hearing in Norristown, Pa., represents dozens of women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault, including some of 13 accusers who may get to testify to his alleged "prior bad acts" at his forthcoming trial on criminal charges. KENA BETANCUR, AFP/Getty Images

Bill Cosby seemed to be in a good mood, laughing as he arrived at the Montgomery County Courthouse for another hearing on the aggravated indecent assault charges against him, on Sept. 6, 2016. Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty Images

Accompanied by lawyers and bodyguards, Bill Cosby arrives for the latest pretrial hearing in his criminal sex-assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., July 7, 2016. Cosby is appealing a decision to send the case to trial before his lawyers can question the accuser under oath. Matt Rourke, AP

Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee now living in Canada. Constand, here in December 2015, did not testify in person at the preliminary hearing for Cosby on May 24. Marta Iwanek, AP

Starting in the fall of 2014, comedian Bill Cosby, 78, has been accused by about 60 women of drugging and sexuallyassaultingthem in episodesdating as far back as the 1960s. On Dec. 30, 2015, he was officially charged in Norristown, Pa., for an alleged assault in 2004. KENA BETANCUR, AFP/Getty Images

Cosby arrives on Dec. 30, 2015, to the Court House in Elkins Park, Pa. to face charges of aggravated indecent assault. Cosby was arraigned over an incident that took place in 2004 -- the first criminal charge filed against the actor after dozens of women claimed abuse. Kena Betancur, AFP/Getty Images

Bill Cosby walks past the press upon arrival for his arraignment, Wednesday, in Elkins Park, Pa. Cosby was charged Wednesday with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home 12 years ago. Matt Rourke, AP

Bill Cosby leaves the Court House in Elkins Park, Pa. after a 10 minute arraignment on charges of aggravated indecent assault. Cosby pleaded not guilty,posted $1 million bail, and turned over his passport as a condition for being released on bail. Kena Betancur, AFP/Getty Images

"The evidence is strong and sufficient enough to proceed with the charges," Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said at a news conference. The decision by his boss, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, reverses a decision by her predecessor who had ruled that there was not enough evidence to warrant an arrest. AP

Camille Cosby calls out prosecutor, judge

Cosby, 79, frail and nearly blind, faced spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted. His wife of 53 years, Camille, who accompanied him to court Monday for the first time since the trial began, was not in the courtroom. But she issued a statement later lambasting Steele, the judge, the lawyers for accusers and the media as heinous, vicious, arrogant, unethical and greedy. She effusively thanked Cosby's defense team and her friends and family.

"Historically, people have challenged injustices. I am grateful to any of the jurors who tenaciously fought to review the
evidence; which is the rightful way to make a sound decision," her statement said. "Ultimately, that is a manifestation of justice, based on facts, not lies. As a very special friend once stated, 'truth can be subdued, but not destroyed.'"

Day 6, the final day of the courtroom part of the trial, was taken up with closing arguments, ranging from the noisy dramatics of lead defense attorney Brian McMonagle (who repeatedly slammed his hand on the defense table, and exclaimed "This ain't right!" at one point), to the businesslike summation by Steele.

If you have more questions than you’ve got answers,” lead defense attorney Brian McMonagle told the jurors, “that’s reasonable doubt.”(Photo: Matt Rourke, AP)

Defense attorney: We’re talking about all of the man’s tomorrows

McMonagle, who swung from dramatic stage whispers to shouts in his closing argument, insisting that Cosby and Constand had a “romantic” relationship and that their sexual encounter was consensual. He said Cosby had been unfaithful to his wife but he didn't commit a crime.

He called Constand a liar and said inconsistencies in her statements to police should cause reasonable doubt. “Ms. Constand was untruthful time and time and time again,” he said. If you have “more questions than you’ve got answers,” he told the jurors, “that’s reasonable doubt.”

He said Cosby was prosecuted because of worldwide headlines about the accusations against him, and because graphic excerpts from his deposition in Constand's civil suit became public. He repeated to jurors that Cosby’s life was in their hands. “This isn’t a civil case about money, money, money,” he said. “We’re talking about all of the man’s tomorrows.”

How we got here

Steele told jurors the case was straightforward, resting on three pillars: One, that Cosby drugged Constand. Two, that she was “legally” unconscious. Three, she was unable to consent to sex. "All of the fancy lawyering … can’t get you around (Cosby’s) own words,” Steele said.

True, Steele acknowledged to the jury, certain details of Constand’s past statements has been incorrect or “fuzzy.”

“Why? Because, he drugged her,” he said.

Steele also reminded jurors about a phone conversation after the encounter during which Cosby apologized to Constand and to her mother and described himself as a "sick man."

Even before the mistrial was declared, Cosby’s heroic status as a pioneering and influential African-American comedian and actor had been indelibly stained by the allegations from five-dozen women who accused him of drugging and/or sexually assaulting them in episodes dating back to the mid-1960s.

Constand’s accusation is the only one to reach a criminal court because all the other allegations were too old to prosecute except in Pennsylvania, with an unusually long statute of limitations for alleged sex offenses.

Constand’s case had a long and complicated history: Her encounter with Cosby happened in January 2004, about two years after he became a friend and mentor to the Canadian-born Constand. She filed a complaint with authorities a year later.

The then-district attorney, Bruce Castor, decided not to pursue charges because of the lapse of time and the lack of evidence. So Constand sued Cosby in civil court in 2005 and in 2006 the case was settled for an undisclosed sum and sealed, including a lengthy deposition Cosby gave for the lawsuit.

Fast forward to October 2014, when video of comedian Hannibal Burress calling out Cosby as an accused rapist in his standup act went viral. Soon, scores of women began going public, accusing Cosby of being a serial rapist.

In July 2015, the Associated Press petitioned a judge to unseal the civil deposition in which Cosby made damaging admissions, including that he acquired drugs — Quaaludes — to give to women he sought for sex, and that he repeatedly had sexual affairs with young women he met throughout his career as a Hollywood icon.

His own words from that deposition were used against him in court by Steele.

By November 2015, the Cosby-Constand case was drawn into the local political race for Montgomery County district attorney in suburban Philadelphia: Steele was elected after promising to pursue Cosby using the unsealed deposition as new evidence for reopening the long-abandoned case.

In December 2015, Steele filed the charges just weeks before the statute of limitations would expire. Cosby was arrested, posted $1 million bond, and was released.

After numerous pre-trial hearings before O’Neill, most of which Cosby lost, trial was set for June 5.

The star witness was Constand, who stuck to her story and remained calm in the face of tough cross-examination about inconsistencies in and questions about her account.

O'Neill had allowed Steele and the prosecution team to call only one other accuser (he sought to call a total of 13) to testify at the trial. Kelly Johnson, who once worked for Cosby’s agent, testified that he drugged and assaulted her in a Los Angeles hotel bungalow in 1996. Defense attorneys pointed to inconsistencies about the date in her story.

Steele also used Cosby’s words against him at the trial, reading excerpts from a 2005 police interview about his encounter with Constand, in addition to the deposition.

The trial was supposed to last two weeks, lawyers in the case predicted. It went much more quickly; it was the jury deliberation part of the trial that took more time than anticipated.